It is becoming increasingly clear to me, both through my education and simply by paying attention to current events, that the rights promised to Americans by the US Constitution are not capable of standing together without conflicting to a degree. While there are any number of examples of this, the most clear and consistent example of this is the 2nd amendment and the role that it plays in interfering with other people's rights.
With recent, high-profile shootings in Oak Creek, Wisconsin (my home state), and Aurora, Colorado, the conflict between our rights has been thrust to the forefront. While there are plenty of people who feel very strongly that the 2nd amendment means that the government has no power to regulate firearms, there are two problems with this idea. First, these people often forget about the "well regulated militia" portion of the amendment's language. Regulation is an explicit requirement of the 2nd amendment.
Second, one cannot look at an individual constitutional right in a vacuum. While guns have legitimate uses, guns are also used to deprive people of their right to live, their right to worship as they choose and others. I will never say that guns are inherently bad. They are tools, and tools are only as good as the person who wields them. That being said, I see no reason why we shouldn't work to make sure that they are kept out of the wrong hands. We do it with drugs, cars and any number of other dangerous activities and items that can hurt people even by accident.
To treat guns as special is to elevate the 2nd amendment over every other right promised to us in the constitution. Any person or organization willing to take such a narrow focus is unintelligent and irresponsible.
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